A calculated scheme to kill Vice President Sara Duterte's Senate impeachment trial.
That's how incoming ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio described Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero's decision to reset the presentation of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Duterte from June 2 to June 11.
The militant solon said June 11 is the very last session day before the 19th Congress' scheduled sine die adjournment or conclusion on June 13.
"This deliberate delay exposes a calculated scheme to kill the impeachment trial through procedural maneuvering rather than addressing the serious charges on their merits," Tinio said in a statement Friday afternoon, May 30.
"The Constitution is clear under Article XI, Section 3(4): when impeachment articles are filed by at least one-third of House members, 'trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed'. Forthwith means immediately, not after months of delay and political calculations," he said.
The impeachment complaint--which contained the articles of impeachment--were transmitted by the House to the Senate on Feb. 5, "yet the Senate has shamefully failed to act, first citing the mid-term elections on May 12, and now prioritizing other legislative measures over constitutional duty," according to Tinio.
"The Senate's delaying tactics make a mockery of our democratic institutions and constitutional processes. If impeachment proceedings can be killed through procedural technicalities and political alignments, then no high official will ever be held accountable for corruption and abuse of power," the veteran lawmaker said.
"What is particularly disturbing is how this delay strategy is seemingly being orchestrated across party lines," he underscored.
"Right after the elections, President Marcos Jr. publicly expressed once again his opposition to the impeachment trial, despite overwhelming evidence of anomalies in the Vice President's use of confidential funds," the returning congressman noted.
Tinio added that in the days leading to the resumption of sessions on June 2, a prominent leader of the traditional opposition has become the first to articulate the legal argument for junking the trial.
Tinio said this person claimed that the incoming 20th Congress lacks jurisdiction over articles filed during the 19th Congress. He said that since then, numerous talking heads seem bent on convincing the public that the junking of the impeachment trial was all but inevitable.
"Ultimately, the decision on whether the incoming Senate has jurisdiction to carry out the impeachment trail of the Vice President is political. The legal argument is a mere fig leaf meant to cover the cowardly retreat of the administration and its allies from engaging with the Duterte faction in the potentially explosive arena of an impeachment trial," he said.
Expressing his frustration, Tinio added: "Nakakagalit na makita kung paano nagiging transactional ang accountability mechanism sa ating bansa (It is infuriating to see how the accountability mechanism in our country has become transactional)."
"This exposes that there can be no true accountability for the misuse of public funds by high officials when the accountability mechanism is based on political calculations rather than the actual merits of the case," he said, referring to one of the seven articles of impeachment against the Vice President, particularly the alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds.
"The strong evidence that has come to light against the Vice President after months of House investigation – including the discovery of fictitious names and suspicious receipts in confidential fund disbursements – is being completely disregarded," rued Tinio.